Family adopts retired military working dogs

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By Andy Barrand

Hillsdale.net - Hillsdale, MI

By Andy Barrand

Posted May. 26, 2013 at 12:55 PM

By Andy Barrand
Posted May. 26, 2013 at 12:55 PM

Hillsdale, Mich.

abarrand@hillsdale.net HANOVER — With a knock at the door, Siebert will be the first to greet any visitor to Casey and Linsay Wykoff’s rural Hanover homestead with a lick. Siebert, a 10-year-old retired military working dog, was adopted by the Wykoffs and their two children Rhiannon and Elias a year ago. Siebert, a friendly black Labrador Retriever, served four tours of duty as an Improvised Explosives Detection Dog (IEDD). Siebert served two tours in Afghanistan and two in Iraq. Siebert has been recognized as the best dog of his class and received his name in memory of his operations chief, Capt. Todd Siebert, who was killed in Iraq in 2007. Linsay Wykoff said when she learned about the program it was important for her family to adopt a dog from the organization. Casey and Linsay are U.S. Marine Corps veterans — Casey served as an IEDD handler during three tours of duty in Iraq. Linsay was a criminal investigator at the U.S. Marine base in Twentynine Palms, Calif. Linsay said Siebert is an extremely laid-back dog since they adopted him. The family was so happy they recently adopted their second dog Berry, a yellow Lab, from the program. Berry was stationed at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. He was a training dog for recruits learning to be handlers. “He is a really good dog,” Linsay said. Linsay recently entered Siebert in the American Humane Society’s Hero Dog awards program. If Siebert wins the contest, $5,000 will be donated to the United States War Dog Association. After entering the contest Linsay made Siebert his own Facebook page, www.facebook.com/herodogsiebert. The site features several pictures of Siebert and information about the contest. The winner of the contest will be the one with the most votes by July 30. To vote for Siebert visit www.herodogawards.org/contestant?nominee=8511138567. Linsay said Siebert is currently in third place. Through the contest, Capt. Siebert’s wife contacted Linsay after seeing the Facebook page. Linsay said she enjoyed talking with Capt. Siebert’s wife. When he is not lying around, Siebert enjoys playing with Rhiannon and Elias. “He has been really good with the kids,” Linsay said. On one of his deployments, Siebert found over 20 explosives, three of which were directly in the line of troops he was leading. He had four different handlers during his four deployments. There are currently around 400 dogs in the retired military working dog program. To learn more about the program visit www.militaryworkingdogadoptions.com.